Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
William K. Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 22-110, 22-113, 22-115, 22-116, 22-117, 22-119, 22-121, 22-299, 22-203 · judgment May 30, 2023
Decided · June 27, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 38% cert probability (95% interval 27%–50%)
Before the decision, about 9.2× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and down for a business respondent.
Question presented
Whether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, a release that extinguishes claims held by nondebtors against nondebtor third parties, without the claimants’ consent.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
For respondent
Paul D. Clement
Clement & Murphy, PLLC
Case
Conference history
—
Amicus briefs
26 merits
(13 supporting pet./neither, 13 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued December 4, 2023 — Curtis E. Gannon · Gregory G. Garre · Pratik A. Shah. Audio and transcript
Decided June 27, 2024. Opinion by Gorsuch.
Proceedings
- Jul 29 2024Judgment Issued.
- Jun 27 2024Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Thomas, Alito, Barrett, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Kavanaugh, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Roberts, C. J., and Sotomayor and Kagan, JJ., joined.
- Dec 04 2023Argued. For petitioner: Curtis E. Gannon, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents Purdue Pharma L.P., et al.: Gregory G. Garre, Washington, D. C. For respondents The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Purdue Pharma L.P., et al.: Pratik A. Shah, Washington, D. C.
- Nov 20 2023Reply of respondents City of Grand Prairie, et al., in support filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 20 2023Reply of petitioner filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 06 2023Motion for divided argument filed by debtor respondents and creditor respondents GRANTED.
- Oct 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amici curiae of Law Professors filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amici curiae of Boy Scouts of America filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York filed.
- Oct 27 2023Brief amici curiae of The Chamber Of Commerce Of The United States Of America, The American Tort Reform Association, The Product Liability Advisory Counsel, Inc., And The National Association Of Manufacturers filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amici curiae of Cheryl Juaire, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Ad Hoc Group of Local Councils of the Boy Scouts of America filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amici curiae of Aldrich Pump LLC, Murray Boiler LLC, and Bestwall LLC filed. (Hard copy correction required and received--11/2/23.) (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Highland Capital Management, L.P. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 27 2023Motion for divided argument filed by the debtor respondents and the creditor respondents.
- Oct 26 2023Brief amicus curiae of Certain Former Commissioners of the American Bankruptcy Institute's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 25 2023Brief amici curiae of The Recovery Advocacy Project, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of The Arkansas Opiod Recovery Partnership, The Association of Arkansas Counties, and the Arkansas Municipal League filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief of respondents The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief of respondent Multi-State Governmental Entities Group filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief of respondents Ad Hoc Group of Individual Victims of Purdue Pharma, L.P., et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief of respondents The Ad Hoc Committee of Governmental and Other Contingent Litigation Claimants filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief of Debtor Respondents filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief of Mortimer-Side Initial Covered Sackler Respondents filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Letter of respondent Raymond Sackler Family filed.
- Oct 19 2023CIRCULATED
- Oct 18 2023Complete record on appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit electronically received and available with the Clerk.
- Oct 16 2023Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Oct 12 2023SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, December 4, 2023.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amici curiae of NexPoint Advisors, L.P., et al. filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of American College of Bankruptcy in support of neither party filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Insolvency Law Committee of Business Law Section of California Lawyers Association in support of neither party filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Adam J. Levitin filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amici curiae of The Commercial Law League of America, et al. in support of neither party filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Kim Harold Peterson filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Atlantic Basin Refining, Inc. filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amici curiae of Bankruptcy Law Professors Ralph Brubaker, et al. filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amici curiae of "Texas Two-Step" Victims filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amici curiae of Bankruptcy Law Professors (Oct. 4, 2023) filed.
- Sep 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 26 2023Brief amici curiae of Martin J. Bienenstock, et al. filed.
- Sep 21 2023Brief amici curiae of The Honorable Eugene Wedoff (Ret.), et al. filed.
- Sep 20 2023Brief of petitioner William K. Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 filed.
- Sep 20 2023Joint appendix (Volume 1) filed. (Statement of cost for 2 vols. filed.)
- Sep 20 2023Joint appendix (Volume 2) filed.
- Sep 20 2023Brief of respondent Ellen Isaacs, on behalf of Patrick Ryan Wroblewski, in support filed.
- Sep 20 2023Brief of respondents City of Grande Prairie, as representative plaintiff for a class consisting of all Canadian municipalities, et al., in support filed.
- Sep 14 2023Letter of respondents California, Connecticut and Oregon notifying the Clerk that they will not be filing or joining a brief on the merits filed.
- Aug 21 2023The following briefing schedule is established: The joint appendix, petitioner's brief on the merits, and the brief of any respondent in support, is to be filed on or before Wednesday, September 20, 2023. Respondents' briefs on the merits are to be filed on or before Friday, October 20, 2023. Any reply brief is to be filed in accordance with Rule 25.3.
- Aug 10 2023Application (23A87) referred to the Court.
- Aug 10 2023Petition GRANTED.
- Aug 10 2023Application (23A87) granted by the Court. The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is granted. The mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in case No. 22-110 and the consolidated cases is recalled and stayed. Applicant suggested this Court treat the application as a petition for a writ of certiorari; doing so, the petition is granted. The parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: Whether the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve, as part of a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, a release that extinguishes claims held by nondebtors against nondebtor third parties, without the claimants’ consent. The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the December 2023 argument session. The stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.
- Aug 09 2023Motion to Direct the Clerk to File a Sur-Reply filed by respondent Debtors, Purdue Pharma L.P., and Its Affiliates.
- Aug 09 2023Motion to Direct the Clerk to File a Sur-Reply denied by Justice Sotomayor.
- Aug 08 2023Sur-Reply to Application of Debtors, Purdue Pharma L.P., and Its Affiliates not accepted for filing. (August 08, 2023)
- Aug 07 2023Reply of applicant William K. Harrington filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent State of California, et al. filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent Ad Hoc Group of Individual Victims of Purdue Pharma, L.P., et al. filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent Debtors, Purdue Pharma L.P., and Its Affiliates filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent Multi-State Governmental Entities Group filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent City of Grande Prairie, et al. filed.
- Aug 04 2023Response to application from respondent The Ad Hoc Committee of Governmental and Other Contingent Litigation Claimants filed.
- Jul 28 2023Application (23A87) for a stay, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
- Jul 28 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (See order of August 10, 2023)
- Jul 28 2023Response to application (23A87) requested by Justice Sotomayor, due by noon (EDT), Friday, August 4, 2023.